Ask Pastor Kevin
This week is a tense week politically across America. In fact, the next few weeks will more than likely also prove to be intense. Politics certainly remain to be a hot topic among many Americans. Several times over the past few days, I have been asked variations of this question regarding politics: “As Christians with political opinions and in some instances a voice, what do we do?”
Keep Your Head High
Let me encourage you with Paul’s words:
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
Paul encourages you in this text to keep your eyes on things above. He seeks to keep our focus on heaven, eternity, and ultimately Christ. A common temptation for all Christians is to lose focus. For a season, almost anything can capture our attention.
Please consider this simple illustration. As a person drives down the road, although all of us would agree our attention should solely be on the road ahead, many things capture our attention. Possibly it is a deer in a field, an interesting house, a tree, a building, a person, a text, a phone call, or whatever – literally anything can draw out attention away from the road for a brief moment. When that happens, we place ourselves and those around us in a dangerous position. I know I have looked back at the road in front of me after something caught my attention off to the side where I immediately slammed my breaks to avoid some kind of dangerous collision. Why? Because for an instant, I lost focus.
The Apostle Paul knows that as followers of Christ, the same kind of thing can happen to any one of us. We can be distracted to place our focus on something below, something horizontal, or something primarily in and of the world. When this happens, we too place ourselves in a dangerous situation.
How Does Your Focus Impact Your Hope?
Applying this passage and principle to politics, we cheat our own hearts to allow ourselves to misplace our hope in Democrats, Republicans, a particular person, chamber, mansion, court, or the political process. We look too low for hope when our focus is in any or all of these places. Instead, Paul wants our attention upward on Christ and heaven.
Heaven. Christ. The throne. Union with Christ. The presence of Christ. Fellowship with Christ. Worship. Eternity.
These are the kinds of topics, ideas, themes, and realities that should capture our attention. When you place your focus on these spiritual realities, your heart receives encouragement and hope.
To use another simple illustration, when life seems unsure and scary as a child, typically the child begins to call out for a parent. Think about taking a small child to the medical doctors’ office for a checkup. As long as that parent is close in proximity and keeps the child’s attention, the effect of something that could unsettle a child lessens. Why? Because the parent captures the child’s attention. The child knows the parent’s intentions, trusts the parent, and ultimately is comforted by the parent.
Are we as Christians concerned about many other things in the world around us? Of course we are. However, we should consider these things and handle them wisely, all the while keeping our focus and hope as Paul commands upward on Christ.
How Should Christians Participate in Politics?
Should we as followers of Christ be concerned and participate in the political process? Absolutely.
As citizens we have a stewardship of the common grace God grants to us in every aspect of life. As God provides us blessings of any kind by His grace – and for Christians in America, citizenship in this country is a blessing of common grace to us – we respond as stewards. We either choose to be more responsible with the grace God provides or we choose to be less responsible. Again, this is true in every aspect of living. In the United States, part of the Christian’s common grace is citizenship in a country with processes through which citizens have a voice, have influence, and can participate in aspects of governance.
Therefore, we as followers of Christ participate compelled by two burdens: a civil responsibility (as a citizen of the United States) and a spiritual responsibility (as a recipient of common grace). The level to which any particular person participates is a matter of wisdom, discernment, and conscience.
Caution:
Be very clear though. Participating responsibly as a Christian citizen versus placing one’s hope in any political process, group, or person are vastly different things. May it never be that we conflate faithful obedience and worship of Christ with hope in anything remotely political. The Christian must maintain focus on Christ and things above which produces true hope even as we participate as citizens in an open political process which welcomes individual citizens’ participation.
As a Christian then, what can you do to help maintain this balance?
- Please pray for God’s will to be done in all aspects of human affairs, including politically.
- Participate in the political process as you deem responsible for you. Every person’s answer here will somewhat be different based upon preferences, discernment, wisdom, and opportunity. This is an issue again of stewardship.
- Keep our focus attuned to things above not things below. Keep Christ the object of our true hope and worship. Rejoice in Christ, our heavenly home, the sovereignty of God, and faithfulness of our God.
Let me end with three simple questions:
- Can you participate in politics in a way that honors the Lord? Yes (honoring the Lord must include keeping your focus on Christ)
- Should you participate in politics in a way that honors the Lord? Yes, as a steward of the grace of God as you keep your focus on Christ.
- How should you participate in politics in a way that honors the Lord? The extent of this participation will be different for every Christian in every situation.
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